1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to debris transport, and more specifically dust capture during debris transport.
2. Description of Related Art
The removal of flooring tile is a dirty and time-consuming process. Power driven chisels are often employed to speed the removal of the tile and its backing adhesive material. However, this process results in a large amount of dust and debris that is ejected into the ambient air. A large amount of preparation time is needed in order to protect surrounding areas from being contaminated with dust, and an equally large amount of time is necessary in order to remove expelled dust from the workspace after the chiseling is complete. The health of those in the area is negatively affected by the dust, and environmental regulations in certain areas prohibit the escape of the removed dust into the atmosphere.
In order to expedite the process of dust and debris removal from a floor surface, a number of tools have been conceived of Generally, many of these apparatuses involve applying a vacuum to a tool with wheels or other rolling means, which then collects contaminants from the floor surface. In other words, the current state of the art is essentially a traditional vacuum cleaner that could be rolled across a dusty surface to collect dust and debris resulting from tile removal, or a hose vacuum that a user could pass over dusty areas to capture dust from the ground. These means of capturing dust in the situation of floor tile removal, where debris is large and dust can be extremely heavy, have several shortcomings. First, in certain of these embodiments, the suction is prone to decreasing over the duration of the job because large tile debris can block the air intake area. Not only can this slow the already time-consuming process, but it can also require the user to frequently clear the air intake area of the device, thus further exposing her to harmful dust in the air. Second, other embodiments in the prior art rely on tools with rake-like tines to apply suction to a dusty floor surface. This approach to capturing dust does not effectively gather dust resultant from an entire room of removed tile, since suction through the tines themselves encourages larger debris to adhere to the air intake area, preventing additional dust from being collected. Third, embodiments in the prior art that rely on wheels or rolling means to travel across a floor surface are ill-suited to the task of dust capture following the process of tile chiseling, since wheel travel would be impeded by large tile debris strewn across the cleaning area.
So as to reduce the complexity and length of the Detailed Specification, and to fully establish the state of the art in certain areas of technology, Applicant herein expressly incorporates by reference all of the following materials identified in each numbered paragraph below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,582 discloses a carpet fluffing, dust-suction device comprising a hollow axle with rows of hollow tines extending outwardly from the axle. Located at each end of the hollow axle are mounted wheels to allow the device to travel across a floor surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,407 discloses an adapter that can be coupled to a vacuum to clean shag rugs. Suction is applied through rake tines that extend downward to a shag rug floor surface from the coupled vacuum, and dirt is captured from the rug as the adapter is moved across the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,400 discloses a method and system for cleaning a water basin floor. Hollow rake tines are coupled to the lower surface of a hood, and the device moves along a water basin floor to capture sediment that can gather over time. The plurality of rake tines ejects pressurized water from a pump to agitate sediment on the floor surface, which is then suctioned into the device.
U.S. application 2006/0026790 discloses a dustpan with on-board vacuum. In its embodiment, a vacuum hose is coupled to the leading edge of a dustpan in order to facilitate capture of a small volume of dust left behind as debris is swept into the dust pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,078 discloses a dust pan to which a central vacuum hose can be coupled. The device captures dust as it is swept into the dust pan.
U.S. application 2011/0296644 discloses a vacuum cleaner attachment resembling a dustpan. The attachment includes a leading surface onto which dust or debris can be swept, as well as a suction surface comprising a grate of suction holes through which dust can be captured.
Applicant believes that the material incorporated above is “non-essential” in accordance with 37 CFR 1.57, because it is referred to for purposes of indicating the background of the invention or illustrating the state of the art. However, if the Examiner believes that any of the above-incorporated material constitutes “essential material” within the meaning of 37 CFR 1.57(c)(1)-(3), applicant will amend the specification to expressly recite the essential material that is incorporated by reference as allowed by the applicable rules.